Using Track And Trace Technology To Control The Spread Of COVID-19 In The Workplace

To say that the risk mitigation strategies of organizations across the globe have been put to the test in 2020 would be an understatement. The disruption caused by COVID-19 has led to stock-outs, supply chain delays, and severely depleted workforces.

Now, as businesses look to recover from the first waves of the pandemic and head into a successful 2021, controlling risk is an absolute priority – not least when it comes to employee safety.

Track and trace apps, which help identify those exposed to COVID-19, have proved helpful in containing the virus’ spread in many countries.

In Australia, the COVIDSafe app has been aiding state and territory health officials in the process of quickly identifying and contacting those who have been exposed to COVID-19. But technology like this is only effective when the vast majority of people are using it. In Victoria, for example, more than 20,000 cases have been recorded, but just 1,842 people have agreed to share their app data.

Because organizations cannot wholly rely on government initiatives like this to protect their workforce, many will look to leverage alternative technologies.

The risk management system that could help control the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace

Concert ICT, an Australian professional services and business solutions provider, has partnered with leading data scientists to develop a rapidly deployable, cost-effective, Workforce Risk Management System – COVID-19 solution. The solution has been designed to support organizations in safely getting their employees back into the workplace.

While COVID-19 continues to present a very real threat, business leaders are keen to ensure their employees can continue to work while preserving a safe distance from other workers or restricted areas. In work environments where employees are unable to work remotely, such as construction sites, factories, warehouses and health care services, this is a pressing concern.

“Our solution provides a powerful toolset to help navigate the many challenges traversing People and Culture, Health & Safety, Compliance and Regulatory,” says Riz Ahmad, CTO & Head of Solutions, Concert ICT. “It can integrate with proximity management, geofencing, asset tracking or contact tracing platforms and other IoT offerings to create a 360-degree enterprise solution for deployment in the most critical high-risk environments. The application of our system is quite wide-spread – anywhere where a group of people is needed to work together to get their tasks completed.”

How does Concert ICT’s solution mitigate risk in the workplace?

Concert ICT’s solution can be deployed both indoors and outdoors, covering the premises of an entire facility. Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) wearables are worn by employees to track location and provide other critical information.

Features such as Proximity Alert and Monitoring and Density Enforcement alert employees when an area within the workplace has reached its maximum density, enable the back-tracing of infection and contamination chains, and analyse staff presence in front of shared-equipment. Organisations also have the option to set up an alert system when assets need to be disinfected and closely monitor and trace all cleaning operations.

In addition, the solution supports scenario planning, risk profiling, and risk forecasting:

• Business leaders will have the means to predict the risk of infection in the workplace so preventative measures can be taken and the probability of a company-wide shutdown can be reduced.
• Daily data feeds are obtained from local and worldwide sources, which can be applied to the organisation’s specific location and employee base.
• The risk of an external person visiting the workplace can be properly evaluated and prevented if necessary.

“In a nutshell, we can help organisations manage risk in getting people back into the workplace,” says Ahmad. “Our system allows leaders to make decisions on how to return their most important assets, their people, back to the workplace.

“To do this, leadership need to have a deep understanding of how to predict risk and planning for the “what-if” scenarios accurately. We give organisations a pathway; a means to help bring their people back at the right time and the right way and keep them safe.”

Aside from these features that address workplace concerns relating to COVID-19, the solution can:

• Enhance staff safety and increased operational efficiencies.
• Streamline human resource allocation, lower costs and respond quickly to changing demands by analysing staff movements.
• Trigger a mobile emergency call whenever a threatening situation or a medical emergency occurs.
• Provide additional safety to lone workers in case of an accident.
• Aid theft detection based on movement and geofencing, allowing quick reaction to unauthorised events.
• Immediately report excessive shock and movement alerts.